ABSTRACT
In the context of the contemporary social and ecological crisis, this contribution proposes a re-reading of current fashion design educational programs through a bio-inspired perspective. The investigation frames the theoretical subsoil by illustrating some of fashion studies’ key concepts such as ‘fashion futuring’, ‘making kin’, notions drawn from plant neurobiology, collective authorship and co-design. Specific plant neurobiology and botanical definitions are applied to the qualitative analysis of two peculiar didactical case studies: the Master in Co-diseño de Moda y Sostenibilidad at the Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny de Valencia (Spain), the course in Biomoda at the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). Proven the evidence that nowadays the needs of the planet and those of the fashion labour market must be realigned, the ultimate goal appears to be training professionals to pursue principles of sustainability, implementing redirection practices in a ‘futuring’ perspective by operating as a collective parental-like organism establishing multidisciplinary dialogues. The vegetal metaphor allows weaving analogies between human and non-human worlds, introducing a fashion designer-plant hybridization model. It helps the visualization and guidance towards the creation of collective paths; it enhances the structuring of emerging experimental academic fashion curricula.
